Before we begin: I'm putting out a content warning for depictions of blackface. I'm simply adding the images to provide context/evidence, but if you do not wish to see that, I completely understand. Please take care of yourself, and I'll see you in my next blog. Kiss kiss. ♡
Also, a very special thanks to Micha, who helped me in sharing their opinions for this blog. I always want to amplify the correct voices whenever I can, and I'm very grateful that you took the time to talk to me!
Alrighty, let's begin!
~
I think one of the biggest points of contention in Gyaru is whether or not gals participate in cultural appropriation. And I think this is a fair discussion to have, seeing how much of Gyaru is derived from black, particularly black American, culture. Nails, hair styling, fashion, music; popular Gyaru icons like Namie Auro have described artists like Janet Jackson and TLC as their main inspirations, and of course, more modern Gyaru music tends to be of the rap/hip hop variety, genres pioneered by black Americans. Some aspects of Gyaru even overlap with the reggae scene, which, of course, originated in Jamaica among Afro-Caribbeans. In recent years, black gals have been the ones pioneering the gal renaissance. Without them and their dedication to the Gyaru community, we wouldn't see such a surge in popularity. It's clear that black culture has well cemented itself as an integral part of Gyaru culture, as well as black people. But the question still remains: With all this influence, why do so many non-black gals get things so wrong?
Dark, extreme tans. Wearing black hairstyles like cornrows, box braids, and dreads. Even downright mockery of black people and blackface. These are all things we see amongst non-black gals regularly, especially amongst Japanese gals.
I don't want to focus on Japanese gals for the purpose of singling them out; I think we're all well aware that non-black gals in America and Europe do similar things. However, I think many people see Japanese gals as somehow immune to criticism. We don't hesitate to jump down the throat of a white American gal doing blackface (although we most definitely should), yet it's a constant discourse in the gal space of whether or not a Japanese gal doing the same thing can be held accountable.
For example, let's take a look at egg magazine model Momoa Seto, who many of you may know from this very popular image:
Many hail her as a modern gal icon, and after she appeared in a YouTube video on the official egg magazine channel in literal blackface, many people to this day defend her.
The most common defense is that the Japanese simply don't understand racism. To those who don't use their brains very much, this may sound like a good counterpoint. After all, Japan is extremely homogeneous, and they don't have the same history as other countries. Maybe this excuse was acceptable 100 years ago, but Japan lives in the modern world, don't they? They interact with the rest of the world, which includes black people, right? They teach world history in school, correct? The modern Japanese person absolutely knows what racism is. They know what blackface is. If they didn't, why would Momoa be doing this as a "joke?" It is frankly infantilizing of Japanese people to coddle them and say, "Oh, poor, stupid, innocent Japanese person! You just don't understand anything, do you?" Japanese media, like most media in the rest of the world, does indeed have a long history of racism and anti-blackness.
egg magazine itself has a long history of racist behavior. Momoa often wears braids, and once had jamaican flag themed nails. In an issue from 2011, they showcased a Barack Obama "cosplay." In another earlier issue, they did a whole spread of gals in blackface. It was a trend amongst Ganguro/(Ya)Manba gals in the early days of Gyaru. I'll include a similar photo to show this is not an isolated incident. All photos can be seen below.
Now, I will say this: Aside from the obviously mocking Obama cosplay and Momoa in blackface, do I think these gals intended to be racist? Probably not. But intent does not negate the impact. I think Momoa probably really admires black girls, and she shows it in a really stupid way. I also think those Ganguro gals thought they looked cool, and didn't even think about it being racist. But that doesn't mean Momoa and the Ganguro gals aren't being racist. They are.
So, all this to say: Why do Japanese gals get a pass? Why do they get defended to the ends of the earth? Why are they allowed to be racist?
I think it boils down to a couple of factors:
I think Japanese people as a whole just don't care. I think people outside of the United States think of racism as a uniquely American issue. I wouldn't be surprised if you asked an average Japanese person if they think there is racism in Japan, they'd probably answer with no. I think this refusal to acknowledge their own societal issues (and it is a refusal) has resulted in a moral apathy amongst Japanese people, and gals are not immune. If they don't acknowledge it, it doesn't exist. And if you point out its existence, you are the problem. So, because of this, Japanese gals feel so emboldened to participate in such egregious displays of cultural appropriation.
Another aspect of this, in my opinion, is that it really is misguided admiration. I think we've all experienced this, I know I have. You just really, really like something or someone, and you end up showing your admiration in really dumb, bad ways. I think this is the case for a lot of Japanese gals. The combination of self-inflicted cultural ignorance and admiration shows itself in the rampant cultural appropriation. And rather than see the error of their ways, they keep going.
Finally, I think gaijin gals want to "preserve" Gyaru. Despite the boom in popularity, Gyaru as a style and subculture has not progressed or evolved that much. To put it plainly, Japanese gals are becoming harder to find. Gyaru has always been generally unfashionable in Japan, and that remains true today. So, when we have really famous and popular Japanese gals, no one wants to drive them away by giving them a bunch of backlash for their bad behavior. In my opinion, Gyaru is in danger of dying simply because it frankly has not changed since the 2010's. Some gaijin gals feel the need to coddle and protect Japanese gals from all negativity and criticism to "preserve" Gyaru.
Now, take all my opinions with a grain of salt, as I am not black. There are certain aspects of this conversation that I can't speak on, as I lack cultural context and experiences. So, in the interest of amplifying the right voices, let's focus our attention. When I was talking about blog topics in a bulletin, this topic being one of them, I got a comment from a friend of mine, Micha, who offered to lend their opinion as a black person. Let's hear from him:
(Interjections for clarity from me are in brackets [like this])
Also, a very special thanks to Micha, who helped me in sharing their opinions for this blog. I always want to amplify the correct voices whenever I can, and I'm very grateful that you took the time to talk to me!
Alrighty, let's begin!
~
I think one of the biggest points of contention in Gyaru is whether or not gals participate in cultural appropriation. And I think this is a fair discussion to have, seeing how much of Gyaru is derived from black, particularly black American, culture. Nails, hair styling, fashion, music; popular Gyaru icons like Namie Auro have described artists like Janet Jackson and TLC as their main inspirations, and of course, more modern Gyaru music tends to be of the rap/hip hop variety, genres pioneered by black Americans. Some aspects of Gyaru even overlap with the reggae scene, which, of course, originated in Jamaica among Afro-Caribbeans. In recent years, black gals have been the ones pioneering the gal renaissance. Without them and their dedication to the Gyaru community, we wouldn't see such a surge in popularity. It's clear that black culture has well cemented itself as an integral part of Gyaru culture, as well as black people. But the question still remains: With all this influence, why do so many non-black gals get things so wrong?
Dark, extreme tans. Wearing black hairstyles like cornrows, box braids, and dreads. Even downright mockery of black people and blackface. These are all things we see amongst non-black gals regularly, especially amongst Japanese gals.
I don't want to focus on Japanese gals for the purpose of singling them out; I think we're all well aware that non-black gals in America and Europe do similar things. However, I think many people see Japanese gals as somehow immune to criticism. We don't hesitate to jump down the throat of a white American gal doing blackface (although we most definitely should), yet it's a constant discourse in the gal space of whether or not a Japanese gal doing the same thing can be held accountable.
For example, let's take a look at egg magazine model Momoa Seto, who many of you may know from this very popular image:
Momoa Seto
Many hail her as a modern gal icon, and after she appeared in a YouTube video on the official egg magazine channel in literal blackface, many people to this day defend her.
Momoa in blackface
The most common defense is that the Japanese simply don't understand racism. To those who don't use their brains very much, this may sound like a good counterpoint. After all, Japan is extremely homogeneous, and they don't have the same history as other countries. Maybe this excuse was acceptable 100 years ago, but Japan lives in the modern world, don't they? They interact with the rest of the world, which includes black people, right? They teach world history in school, correct? The modern Japanese person absolutely knows what racism is. They know what blackface is. If they didn't, why would Momoa be doing this as a "joke?" It is frankly infantilizing of Japanese people to coddle them and say, "Oh, poor, stupid, innocent Japanese person! You just don't understand anything, do you?" Japanese media, like most media in the rest of the world, does indeed have a long history of racism and anti-blackness.
egg magazine itself has a long history of racist behavior. Momoa often wears braids, and once had jamaican flag themed nails. In an issue from 2011, they showcased a Barack Obama "cosplay." In another earlier issue, they did a whole spread of gals in blackface. It was a trend amongst Ganguro/(Ya)Manba gals in the early days of Gyaru. I'll include a similar photo to show this is not an isolated incident. All photos can be seen below.
Momoa in braids
Obama "cosplay"
Blackface spread
Similar photo
Now, I will say this: Aside from the obviously mocking Obama cosplay and Momoa in blackface, do I think these gals intended to be racist? Probably not. But intent does not negate the impact. I think Momoa probably really admires black girls, and she shows it in a really stupid way. I also think those Ganguro gals thought they looked cool, and didn't even think about it being racist. But that doesn't mean Momoa and the Ganguro gals aren't being racist. They are.
So, all this to say: Why do Japanese gals get a pass? Why do they get defended to the ends of the earth? Why are they allowed to be racist?
I think it boils down to a couple of factors:
I think Japanese people as a whole just don't care. I think people outside of the United States think of racism as a uniquely American issue. I wouldn't be surprised if you asked an average Japanese person if they think there is racism in Japan, they'd probably answer with no. I think this refusal to acknowledge their own societal issues (and it is a refusal) has resulted in a moral apathy amongst Japanese people, and gals are not immune. If they don't acknowledge it, it doesn't exist. And if you point out its existence, you are the problem. So, because of this, Japanese gals feel so emboldened to participate in such egregious displays of cultural appropriation.
Another aspect of this, in my opinion, is that it really is misguided admiration. I think we've all experienced this, I know I have. You just really, really like something or someone, and you end up showing your admiration in really dumb, bad ways. I think this is the case for a lot of Japanese gals. The combination of self-inflicted cultural ignorance and admiration shows itself in the rampant cultural appropriation. And rather than see the error of their ways, they keep going.
Finally, I think gaijin gals want to "preserve" Gyaru. Despite the boom in popularity, Gyaru as a style and subculture has not progressed or evolved that much. To put it plainly, Japanese gals are becoming harder to find. Gyaru has always been generally unfashionable in Japan, and that remains true today. So, when we have really famous and popular Japanese gals, no one wants to drive them away by giving them a bunch of backlash for their bad behavior. In my opinion, Gyaru is in danger of dying simply because it frankly has not changed since the 2010's. Some gaijin gals feel the need to coddle and protect Japanese gals from all negativity and criticism to "preserve" Gyaru.
Now, take all my opinions with a grain of salt, as I am not black. There are certain aspects of this conversation that I can't speak on, as I lack cultural context and experiences. So, in the interest of amplifying the right voices, let's focus our attention. When I was talking about blog topics in a bulletin, this topic being one of them, I got a comment from a friend of mine, Micha, who offered to lend their opinion as a black person. Let's hear from him:
(Interjections for clarity from me are in brackets [like this])
I love the gyaru subculture and how diverse it it,, but sometimes I do a double take because I feel so bad for the non-black/thick haired gyaru doing the tightest box braids I've ever seen [...] there are so many softer braids that are similar to styles used on kinky hair that they could do if they wanted to emulate them so much,,, but I feel like gals who do go crazy with the tanning and braiding harm themselves in the process!! and it doesn't really look good in the end from an objective standpoint [...] It's [tanning] also linked to increased rates of skin cancer, so I feel like tanning beds shouldn't be as popular in gal spaces as they are! Maybe spray tans could be better?? I understand the sun kissed looks, but when they go extremely tan and use braids and dress in a "black" (stereotypically black, there isn't a real concrete black style) way, it sort of feels like blackface [...] I think it comes from wanting to emulate things they find cool, but then it gets so extreme in the way it turns into more of a caricature than a fashion choice.. I wonder why Ganguro gals tan so dark in the first place, I've never understood it [...] From what I’ve heard, Gyaru fashion was started to fight against restrictive East Asian beauty standards (based), and some of it was inspired by fashion popular over the pond. I think there’s a difference between sort of like a heavy tan vs actual blackface (like if someone has the darkest tan imaginable paired with braids clearly meant to emulate protective styles, that’s more unnerving than just a tan), plus I’ve seen a lot of jp gals I’ve seen who dress in that sort of way usually think that it’s just ‘hip’ to dress that way and don’t think much of it […] but there’s also a sector that annoyingly ignores voices from Black gals in favor of looking like a straight up modern day minstrel show.. I think appropriation in the gal community is a spectrum
Thanks again to Micha for lending me your opinions and time for this little mini-interview! I recommend sending him a req, he's great!
So, where does this leave Gyaru? What's the solution?
Truthfully, I don't think there is a permanent solution. Cultural appropriation of any culture will always be a problem, and a solution for that goes way beyond Gyaru as a whole. But as far as Gyaru is concerned, I think the best thing for us to do is to keep talking about the issue. The more we talk about it, the more people in our community are forced to confront anti-blackness, which is a rampant problem in Gyaru as it stands. By directly confronting the problem, we are all able to educate Japanese and gaijin Gyaru alike.
~
And that's all I have for today! I really like doing opinion pieces like this, since it gives me a break from really research-heavy topics, and the opinion topics can be super important (like this one). So I hope everyone doesn't mind more opinion-oriented blogs from now on! Anyway, what's your take on this? Do you have any thoughts or anything to add? Leave it in the comments! And as always, thank you so much for reading! The next blog will be another opinion piece: What makes a Gyaru? Please look forward to it!!
Remember, Antama loves you~!
Kiss kiss~ ☆⌒ヽ(*'､^*)chu
So, where does this leave Gyaru? What's the solution?
Truthfully, I don't think there is a permanent solution. Cultural appropriation of any culture will always be a problem, and a solution for that goes way beyond Gyaru as a whole. But as far as Gyaru is concerned, I think the best thing for us to do is to keep talking about the issue. The more we talk about it, the more people in our community are forced to confront anti-blackness, which is a rampant problem in Gyaru as it stands. By directly confronting the problem, we are all able to educate Japanese and gaijin Gyaru alike.
~
And that's all I have for today! I really like doing opinion pieces like this, since it gives me a break from really research-heavy topics, and the opinion topics can be super important (like this one). So I hope everyone doesn't mind more opinion-oriented blogs from now on! Anyway, what's your take on this? Do you have any thoughts or anything to add? Leave it in the comments! And as always, thank you so much for reading! The next blog will be another opinion piece: What makes a Gyaru? Please look forward to it!!
Remember, Antama loves you~!
Kiss kiss~ ☆⌒ヽ(*'､^*)chu
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